The University of Cincinnati women's lacrosse team is playing its first home games of the 2014 campaign. UC hosts Coastal Carolina on Friday, March 14. Opening draw is set for 1:00 p.m. at Gettler Stadium. That is followed by a Sunday, March 16, showdown with Iona. Opening draw against the Gaels is set for Noon.

Coastal Carolina and Cincinnati will be meeting for the second time, with the Bearcats having taken a 13-8 victory in last year's season opener. Courtney Curtis scored five goals in the victory for UC, while other top returners from that game include Taylor Young (three goals) and Megan Bell (two goals). Iona and Cincinnati will be meeting for the third time, with the Gaels having won both previous meetings. Iona dealt UC a heartbreaking, 13-12 overtime loss last season, while the Gales took the first meeting in Cincinnati in 2012, 21-13.

CCU enters the contest with a 2-5 mark following a March 12 loss at Marquette, 10-7. Alicia Geiter scored three times to lead the Chants, while Mikayla Sweeney scored twice and Keri White and Sara Nolan each netted one goal. The Golden Eagles out-shot Coastal, 25-15. Geiter and Nolan are tied for the team lead in goals scored at 12 each through seven games. White leads the Chants in points with 13 (10 goals, three assists). Trista Kuehn has started six-of-seven games in the cage for Coastal, posting a 1-4 mark. She sports an 11.57 goals against average and a save percentage of .383. She took the loss at Marquette, allowing 10 goals while facing 17 shots. Nyra Constant leads the team with 14 ground balls, while she also ranks second in caused turnovers with nine. Rachel Waldron leads Coastal in caused turnovers at 10.

Iona comes to Cincinnati with an 0-4 mark on the season, the most recent setback being a 12-3 loss to New Hampshire. In that contest, the Gaels trailed 4-3 at halftime before being outscored, 8-0, in the second half. Erin Pugh leads IC in both goals (four) and points (five) on the season. Maria Ortiz has made two starts in the cage for Iona, having made 12 saves against the Wildcats to bring her season save percentage to .418.

Sophomore goalie Meg Gulmi earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on March 11 after helping UC to a pair of victories last week. She posted a .542 save percentage and a 6.64 goals against average earning the victories against Winthrop and Presbyterian. Gulmi made six saves against the Eagles, with four coming in the second half and one in overtime to set-up UC's game winning possession. She followed that up with seven first-half saves as UC built a 12-2 halftime lead against the Blue Hose, en route to a 16-6 victory. It marked the second weekly league award for the Bearcats this season, after Megan Bell took home Offensive Player of the Week on February 25. Bell had 10 points in UC's victory at Stetson and loss at No. 7/5 Florida.

The three-game homestand is capped next weekend with a visit from Detroit on Sunday, March 23 (Noon), before UC opens up BIG EAST Conference play at Marquette on Friday, March 28 (6:00 p.m. CT).